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Tipu Sultan (1750-1799) was the de-facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. His full name was Sultan Fateh Ali , Tipu ascended the throne of his father after his death in 1782 In addition to his role as ruler, he was a scholar, soldier, and poet, Tippu was fluent in Persian, Arabic, Kannada, English and French, and the royal library had 40,000 books.

Tiger of MysoreTipu was commonly known as the 'Tiger of Mysore' and adopted this animal as the symbol of his rule. It is said that Tipu Sultan was hunting in the forest with a French friend. He came face to face with a tiger. His gun did not work, and his dagger fell on the ground as the tiger jumped on him. He reached for the dagger, picked it up, and killed the tiger with it. That earned him the name "the Tiger of Mysore"

He even had French engineers build a mechanical tiger for his palace. The device, known as Tipu's Tiger, is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not only did Tipu place relics of tigers around his palace and domain, he also had the emblem of a tiger on his banners and even on some arms and weapons.

Tipu Sultan - innovations in the use of rocketryTipu was a pioneer in modernising his army too. After the Third Mysore War, as a war strategist, he engaged French technicians to improve upon existing weaponry and develop new ones. After the fall of Tipu Sultan, his rockets were taken to England. They were renamed Congreve (after William Congreve who, as a subaltern, had fought Tipu in 1799) rockets and introduced in the British service in 1806.

President Abdul Kalam in his autobiography, Wings of Fire, says Tipu was revered in America too, and recalls his own experience at NASA. He had been to the Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island in East Coast, Virginia, which was a base of NASA's sounding rocket programme, and had seen a painting displayed prominently in the lobby there. It depicted a battle scene with rockets flying in the background. Later, he came to know it was Tipu Sultan's army fighting the British. He writes: "The painting depicted a fact forgotten in Tipu's own country but commemorated here on the other side of the planet. I was happy to see an Indian glorified by NASA as a hero of warfare rocketry".

Tipu introduced a new calendar, new coinage, and seven new government departments,during his reign, and made military innovations in the use of rocketry.

Tipu Sultan is the only king who died on the battlefield."To this day, Tipu remains a hero to Indians everywhere".

The story after tipu sultan was killed in 1799Place on the banks on Cauvery River in Srirangapatnam where Tippu’s body was found. Presently it is a protected monument by Archeological Survey of India. A close-up view of the battleground where Tippu’s body was found. The plaque was placed by the archaeological department.

Sword of Tippu SultanTippu Sultan had lost his sword in a war with the Nairs of Travancore in which, he was defeated. The Nairs under the leadership of Raja Kesavadas, defeated the Mysore army near Aluva. The Maharaja, Dharma Raja, gifted the famous sword to the Nawab of Arcot, from where the sword went to London. The sword was on display at the Wallace Collection, No. 1 Manchester Square, London. At an auction in London in 2004, the industrialist-politician Vijay Mallya purchased the sword of Tippu Sultan and some other historical artifacts, and brought them back to India for public display after nearly two centuries.

Tipu Sultan's familyTipu, the king of Mysore, was defeated and killed at Srirangapatanam (near Bangalore) by the British army in 1799.

Tipu Sultan's family was sent to Calcutta by the British. A descendent of one of Tipu Sultan's uncles Noor Inayat Khan was a British Special Operations Executive agent during the Second World War, murdered in the German Dachau concentration camp in 1944.

Tipu was the grandfather of Husain Shah's great grandfather Anwar Shah, who has a major thoroughfare named after him in Kolkata.

"After Tipu was killed by the British in Mysore, his 12 sons and relatives, a group of 300 people, were sent to Kolkata, so as to prevent the family from becoming a rallying point of revolt against British rule," Husain Shah told IANS in an interview.

Tipu sultan fortTipu Sultan Fort was initially built by Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore. The fort was later extended by Tipu Sultan, the Emperor of Mysore. Situated near the City Market, the fort dates back to the year 1537. It was here that Hyder Ali, the father of Tipu Sultan, imprisoned David Baird, along with a number of other army officers of the British. The Fort stands as a witness to the struggle of the Mysore Emperor against the British domination. After the death of Tipu sultan, the palace was used by the British as their secretariat, till the year 1867.

Tipu sultan tombTipu Sultan built Gumbaz in the midst of Lal Bagh, a beautiful garden. He built tombs for his father Hyder Ali and mother Fathima Begam (Fakr-Un-Nisa) in Gumbaz.The tomb of Tipu Sultan was added to Gumbaz after he died.You can also find the tombs of other family members of Hyder Ali in the open veranda and surroundings.

The treasure found - 4th may 2009Sweeping through a musty palace room, researchers are amazed to find the silk outfit Tipu Sultan wore the day he died fighting the British

Researchers have stumbled upon a priceless piece of history in a dump: the quilted kurta-like dress warrior-king Tipu Sultan wore the day he died fighting the British

The silk garment, with Tipu's bloodstains, lay in a room full of old papers and discarded furniture at the palace in Srirangapatna,

Tipu's war costume including a kurta-like wardress, saddle on which Tipu sat during his final battle, his silver and gold coins, his prayer beads and personal copy of the Koran were among the treasures recently discovered in the dumps at Gunjam in Srirangapatna where Tipu's mausoleum is situated, around 200 years after his death in 1799.

Why it's worth Rs 30 croreIn 2004, beer baron Vijay Mallya bought a sword belonging to Tipu at an auction for about Rs 1.5 crore. Tipu's war dress would fetch at least Rs 30 crore if it ever got to the auction market, a historian said. "The sword was one among 13 Tipu used, he said," requesting anonymity. "This dress has much greater value since it was on Tipu's person when he died, and there can be only one of its kind." Clothes worn by war heroes are hardly ever found when they die in dramatic and violent circumstances, he said.